Pride hires Rick Wise as new pitching coach

Published on March 21, 2003 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
American Defenders of New Hampshire News Release


The Nashua Pride announced today that former Major Leaguer Rick Wise has joined the team as the Pride's new pitching coach. Wise replaces Andre Rabouin, who left the Pride after three years in Nashua.

Wise, 57, had a stellar career that spanned 18 years in the big leagues, spending seven seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1971 with Philadelphia, he went 17-14 and no-hit Cincinnati on June 23, becoming the only pitcher in ML history to hit two home runs in a no-hitter. Wise also spent at least two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres.

Wise was a member of the 1975 Red Sox team that won the American League championship. He won 19 games for the Sox that year, the most wins in one season during his career. Wise was the winning pitcher, in relief, in the sixth game of the World Series, won by Carlton Fisk's legendary home run.

A two-time All-Star, Wise pitched until 1982, when he was released by the Padres in April of that year. He pitched in 506 total games, winning 188 and finishing his career with a 3.69 ERA. Since moving on from his playing days, Wise has coached at every level of Minor League baseball, beginning in 1985. Recently, he was the pitching coach for the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks in 2001, and spent 2002 with the Allentown Ambassadors of the Northern League.

ON THE FIELD...

The Pride has agreed to terms with LHP Scott Forster, RHP Johnny Ruffin, veteran OF's Glenn Murray and Tim Garland, C Damien Sapp, SS Chris Peterson, and INF Ronnie Brannin.

Ruffin, 31, spent parts of six years in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks and Florida Marlins. His best season came in 1994 with the Reds when the right-hander went 7-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 51 games. Ruffin also spent part of the 1997 season with the Pawtucket Red Sox. Forster, a 31-year-old lefty from Philadelphia, pitched in 42 games with the Montreal Expos in 2000.

Murray and Sapp are no strangers to Nashua. Murray, 32, enters his fourth season with the Pride, after time with the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies organizations. He hit 50 homers for the PawSox in 1994 and '95 before being traded to the Phillies as part of the Heathcliff Slocumb trade. Murray appeared in 38 games with Philadelphia in 1996. Sapp, a 26-year-old from Murray, UT returns to Nashua after a year away from New Hampshire. The 1994 10th round draft choice of the Red Sox played in 104 games for the Pride in 2001. Sapp has also spent time with the Red Sox minor league affiliates in Trenton and Pawtucket.

Peterson, 32, spent last season with Richmond of the International League. The right-handed SS has seven years of AAA experience, and also appeared in seven games with the Colorado Rockies in 1999. Garland, 34, may strike a familiar chord with Atlantic League fans, having spent part of the 2000 season with the Long Island Ducks. Brannin is a Utah native who was invited to Pride spring training in 2001.

The addition of these seven players brings the Pride's 2003 roster up to ten. They join LHP Butch Henry, OF Ricky Otero and LHP Bubba Hardwick on the Pride roster. Henry, 34, has seven years of big league experience, including a 7-3 record with the Red Sox in 1997. Otero, 30, spent parts of three seasons with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, appearing in 189 games. Hardwick was acquired from Atlantic City in a February trade for C Jose Reyes. Henry and Otero came to terms with the Pride in February, while Hardwick recently reached agreement with Nashua.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The annual Nashua Pride Baseball Job Fair for game day staff is scheduled for TOMORROW Saturday, March 22nd from 10 AM to 2 PM. The Job Fair will take place at the Sky Suite level at Historic Holman Stadium in Nashua.

Pride front office staff will be on hand to accept applications and conduct interviews for ushers, ticket takers and merchandise sellers. The Pride concessionaire will also be present to recruit concessions window help, waiters and waitresses and kitchen help at the ballpark.

The Pride is also looking for a motivated individual to perform as the Pride's new mascot Prime Time. Interested candidates may come to the Job Fair to be interviewed by Pride staff members.

Applicants must be at least 16 years old and eligible to work in New Hampshire. No advance appointments are necessary. No phone calls please.

AND...

The Nashua Pride announced that the organization will give a $1,000 scholarship to a member of the 2003 graduating class from a high school in the area. The winning student will be a motivated individual looking to pursue a sports management degree from an accredited four-year program at the university level.

Applications can be obtained from the Pride's Director of Business Development Mark Sousa by calling the Nashua Pride Front Office at 883-2255. All potential applicants must submit their application by April 30th.

The winner will be selected on multiple criteria. The successful candidate must have a grade point average not lower than a B- at the time of graduation, and will be required to submit a written essay, three letters of recommendation, and take part in an interview with the selection committee. Interested individuals will be informed of the specific requirements when the application is requested.

WHERE'S PRIME TIME?

The contest is chugging along, as PRide fans have flocked to Hannaford's on Coliseum Ave. in Nashua to get their Clue Card. You can still go to Hannaford's and get Clue #1 while the contest continues, and we will announce the location of next clue on Monaday in the Telegraph and with an e-letter.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

THE NEWARK BEARS have come to terms with right-handed pitchers Tim Keinath and Kevin Perrucci, Bears Vice President/General Manager Chris Bryan announced today. The two join a group of eight who signed with the Atlantic League's defending champions last week.

Signed as an undrafted free agent by Tampa Bay following a standout career at C.W. Post, Keinath spent his first season in the professional ranks with Devil Ray affiliates Princeton and Hudson Valley, appearing in 21 games out of the bullpen. He logged 34 1/3 innings all told, striking out 28 and walking 11. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound resident of Westbury, N.Y. will turn 24 on April 13 just days before Newark heads to Homestead, Fla. for Spring Training.

A Long Islander as well, Perrucci went 2-2 for Newark last season, appearing in 14 games while making nine starts. He struck out 18 batters and compiled a 5.40 ERA. A resident of Levittown, N.Y. the 22-year old played his college baseball at Division I New York Tech.

THE SOMERSET PATRIOTS of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have announced the signing of former Major League pitcher and Team USA Gold Medalist Rick Krivda.

Krivda has five seasons of Major League experience with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. He pitched in 72 Major League games.

He was also a member of the United States Olympic Team that earned the Gold Medal in Sydney, Australia.

Krivda is a minor league career 87-53 pitcher with a 3.46 ERA and 971 strikeouts in 204 games. He had a 14-2 record with a 3.39 ERA and 128 strikeouts for Rochester, the Triple-A affiliate of the Orioles, in 1997. Krivda followed with an 11-9 record, a 3.12 ERA, and 99 strikeouts for Rochester in 2000.

THE BRISGEPORT BLUEFISH announced today that they have signed two pitchers Brad Cornett and Tim Cain for the upcoming 2003 season.

Cornett returns for his second straight season with the Bluefish after posting a record of 14-7 with a 3.27 ERA in 25 starts last season. He also finished second in the Atlantic League with 14 wins and 167.2 innings pitched while being ranked fourth in strikeouts with 109. His 14 wins tied the Bluefish team record and helped him in earning his third Atlantic League All-Star appearance. He also appeared in two games for the Bluefish in 2001. He was twice named an Atlantic League All-Star while with Lehigh Valley in 1998 and 1999. His Major League experience includes 14 games pitched during the 1994 and 1995 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. Cornett is 57-48 with six saves and a 3.50 ERA in his 11-year minor league career. He was originally signed by the Toronto Bluefish Jays as a non-drafted free agent on June 15, 1992.

Cain also returns for his second straight season with the Bluefish after an injury plagued 2002 campaign. The 33-year-old right-handed pitcher appeared in only eight games and took the mound for the last time on June 11, 2002. He began the 2002 season as the all-time Atlantic League wins leader, but was placed on the disabled list on August 2, 2002 allowing Bridgeport's own Al Sontag to squeak by with one additional win. Last season was the first time that he did not win at least 10 games in the Atlantic League, including 2001 when he was fourth in the Atlantic League with 11 wins. Cain, a five-year veteran of the Atlantic League, is 68-61 with 14 saves and a 4.27 ERA in 262 games (143 starts) in his 13-year minor league career. He was originally signed by the Texas Rangers in the 39th round of the June 1990 free-agent draft.

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Canadian American League Stories from March 21, 2003


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